Day: July 17, 2009

There probably haven’t been too many sleepless nights about this, but the new football for this season’s Premier League has been unveiled. The Nike T90 Ascente has been released with a typical Nike flourish, promising such marketing guff as “Micro-textured surface [which] equalizes airflow increasing accuracy and ball control”. Pondering over the pitch, however, it took a few minutes for what it actually looks like to sink in, and then it did. There is something curiously apt about the Premier League choosing a white version of a planet that can destroy other planets. Of course, in amongst the usual nonsense about how this is the ultimate football and will guarantee to make the Premier League approximately 11% more exciting, the real reason for this new design isn’t mentioned. The real reason for the new design is to shift replicas in sports shops, all of which makes it more curious that, at the time of writing, a yellow version to be used once the winter months kick in hasn’t yet been made public. Could it be that the Premier League is going to end the tradition of making clubs switch to a yellow ball when the clocks go forward? As an aside, the LFP in Spain and have Serie A in Italy will also have their own versions of this ball too. The Spanish version (the same except with the...

It’s that time of year again – the worst fashion show of the year. Well, almost. The Premier League clubs are almost all kitted out for the new season, with only a handful of notable exceptions. A couple of clubs are staying as they were this season and Portsmouth will be keeping their fingers crossed that they don’t sell out of replica shirts after the closure of Canterbury Clothing Company, but the overwhelming majority of clubs have not been able to resist the temptation of all that lovely lucre and gone for it for the 2009/10 season. The results, in general, have been mixed, to say the least. The 1980s have finally been deemed to be back in fashion, and there are one or two clubs that have decided to be, well, “futuristic”. Here, then, and with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, before anyone starts getting outraged) are the results. Arsenal: No new home kit for Arsenal this season, so they will be continuing to look a little bit like Charlton Athletic. They have, however, brought out two new away kits, one in blue and one in white. Nike seem to be going for the “sports casual” look this season but these seem to work reasonably well. They really, really need to bring back those white sleeves, though. Aston Villa: Villa are waiting until the 13th of...